The Girl in the Squad
by Shadenight123
Summary: Sequel to 'The Boy in the Team'. Hanabi-centric. After the successful destruction of Amegakure, life goes on. Hanabi finds herself as the team leader of a squad of misfits, as they deal with threats that menace both Konoha and the Land of Fire at large. Can a girl trained from birth find her place in the world? Darkness is spreading, but is there a light at the end of the tunnel?
1. The Girl in the Squad

The Girl in the Squad

Hanabi Hyuga closed her eyes, letting the feeling of the warm water wash over her skin. She tried to reason it through one more time, but she couldn't. She really couldn't. The images returned to the forefront of her mind like a rising tide. The blood dribbling on the ground, the cries of the children, the grimace of the elderly cradling their nephews and the look of shock on the wounded and infirm as she slammed home the last of the explosive tags remained in her mind.

She cradled herself in the corner of the shower, before closing her eyes and taking deep raspy breaths. She didn't want to remember those moments. She _refused_ to remember those moments.

A shinobi did not cry.

A shinobi killed their emotions.

There was a knock at the door. She stilled. "A moment! I'm in the shower!" she exclaimed. Whoever had knocked was probably a shinobi —she didn't know many civilians, and she doubted any had a reason to knock at her door anyway.

Hanabi turned off the water, and took a deep breath. She passed a hand through her matted wet hair, letting it cascade freely alongside her neck and to her shoulders. She emerged from the shower a few minutes later, clasping her bathrobe around her body as she went to look through the spyglass…

…and that was when she flickered away from the door and returned to it in less than two nanoseconds, perfectly dressed and ready to battle.

She opened her door primly, looking up at Bird-san's face —Shinku's.

The man she looked up to hadn't change a bit from just a few months prior —the day of his marriage to Naruko— but there was a shadow in the back of his eyes that gave him a tired look. He wore his Jounin jacket closed up to the neck, the underlying jacket jet-black with red spirals near the elbows.

He had two pouches strapped to both legs, and a few recent scars on his face. The Anbu mask clasped to the side of his belt, a few small scrolls tied to it.

"I need a favor," he said softly.

Her heart skipped a beat.

Two hours later, she was in an underground complex she had never seen before, where training mats and equipment stood prim and new —as if no one had ever used it.

She walked with purpose, strolling through the large cave and past a few masked guards standing on patrol, who let her through without a word.

"I don't get it! It's been two years already," a female voice said from the end of the corridor, "And I'd be better suited in a hospital rather than on the field!"

"Miss Karin," another male voice, kinder, said. "I think you should calm down."

"Shut it, Jugo!" Karin snapped back. Hanabi raised an eyebrow, nearing the marked hallways with the Kanji for 'Root' and the door number 'Thirteen'.

"Menstruating Bitch should just shut up," another male voice said from within the room, making Hanabi widen her eyes in surprise from the words used.

"You bastard! Tell that to my face, you—"

"Of course, I will repeat myself. Menstruating Bitch should just shut up."

"GAH! Let me at him! Let me at him and I'll rip him a new one!"

"Calm down, Miss Karin," 'Jugo' said. Hanabi knocked on the door, standing on wait.

"Come in," Shinku's voice came through tired, making her swallow nervously as she stepped inside, closing the door behind her.

A red haired woman was being held by an orange-haired man, while the target of the woman's ire —a black haired man— seemed to be doing his best fake smile.

Bird-san stood at the desk, his arms crossed over his chest and a tired look on his face.

"Thank you for coming, Hanabi."

"Sir," she stood to attention. Her ninja jacket zipped itself only halfway, revealing the mesh beneath and the brown shirt further down. She had a pair of dark purple shorts —knee-length— and strapped to her right leg was a pouch.

"Who's the brat?" the red-haired girl asked her voice petulant. "Are you finally deciding on who's going to be the team leader? It's me, isn't it?" her voice was sultry as she made quite the 'whorish' hip gesture to prove the point. She had a long white jacket, and an embarrassingly short light-purple skirt. She had glasses and crimson eyes, but of a clearer shade than those of Shinku.

"Hanabi," Shinku said, ignoring the woman's rant. "I called you here because from the records, you have yet to find a new team."

Hanabi squirmed under Shinku's gaze, before nodding once and holding her tongue on the reason why, "And thus I thought this would be perfect. Congratulations are in order. You are now the team leader of team Thirteen of the newly founded Inner-Security of Konoha, 'Root'."

Shinku smiled at her, with his unfair smile that made her wish to live up to his expectations, no matter what they were. She swallowed her sadness together with her scorn. She had hoped for the 'old' team to be reborn, but apparently, that would no longer be the case.

"What?" Karin exclaimed. "That's unfair! We've been a team for longer than—"

"You should feel proud you've gone from being a guest of Ibiki to being a member of the Internal Security," Shinku replied calmly. "You'll still take missions from me, but I'll be doing more of a paperwork job for the time being."

"That's not fair," Karin sniffled. "We had such deep companionship!"

"You tried to rape me with a sedative in the middle of the night; that does not mean 'Deep Companionship'," Shinku replied calmly. "You no longer are that mentally unhinged, so I hope you can finally put your skills to the benefit of Konoha."

"Do I get your babies if I do that?" Karin asked once more, her eyes fluttering as a grin spread over her face.

"No, you don't get my babies. You don't get anyone's babies," Shinku hissed. "Now," he clasped his hands together. "I am sure you will have questions."

"Sir," Hanabi said, taking a few more steps forward. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Welcome to the Squad," Shinku replied. His voice was light, although there was an underlying note of pain. "Karin Uzumaki is a natural born sensor and a medic, Jugo over there is another special type of sensor, and Sai is a communication specialist. Together with you as a scout, you are to become one of the most important teams of reconnaissance and scouting of Konoha…as well as patrolling the city, capturing traitors, and taking care of 'cleaning up' after unruly shinobi."

Hanabi kept her gaze up. She knew there was more to it, and she wanted to know what it was all about.

Shinku exhaled, conceding the argument. "I was their Team Leader for a few months, Hanabi. They can be trusted, or I wouldn't have asked you. I have the utmost faith in your capabilities…"

He grabbed a scroll from within a desk, "Which is why I'm also promoting you as a fully-fledged Jounin and handing you permission to utilize all Anbu-rank and beneath facilities, utilities and equipment you might need. Just say the name, and we'll have it made."

"Sir…what is the meaning of this?" Hanabi asked, yet again.

Shinku gave her a sad look. "We have reason to believe that after the fall of Amegakure, enemy shinobi will try to infiltrate the land of Fire amongst the refugees. Your first mission is to aid the border patrols," he said. "And as a second objective, you are to check for any compromised shinobi of the leaf. Karin's special ability will come in handy for this."

Hanabi raised an eyebrow. "Ask your teammates," Shinku said, "Or read the scrolls," he added by pulling out from a drawer three scrolls. "You all leave tomorrow. The mission is an A-rank. Do not rest on your laurels…you will participate in S-ranks from henceforth with increasing frequency."

"Sir," Hanabi stood to attention, "May I _please_ talk with you in private?"

"Later," Shinku replied curtly. "You should get to know your team for the moment, captain. The training hall is at your disposal."

"I still say that it's not fair," Karin groaned. "I'm meant to be the captain."

"Keep up the good work, and you'll be captain in a few years, Karin," Shinku said.

"Can I have your babies in a few years?" Karin said, hope in her tone.

"No."

Pouting, the red haired woman walked out with a huff. Jugo followed, kindly bowing once to Shinku and once to Hanabi, while Sai kept his smile up as he left.

"Sir…"

"I said later, Hanabi," Shinku replied, "Tonight, at the Yakiniku Q."

"Will my sister be there?" Hanabi asked.

"It is probable."

"Then I will have to refuse."

"Hanabi."

"Is it an S-rank mission?" Hanabi retorted hotly. "Otherwise, we have nothing to say to each other."

"Just what happened between you two?" Shinku asked, shaking his head softly.

Hanabi bristled, crossing her arms over her chest. "Why don't you ask her?"

"Because it is none of my business," Shinku replied.

"You would make it your business if it were Sasuke, or Naruko," Hanabi retorted.

Shinku clenched his fists. "No, I would not. If it were Sasuke, it would be a matter of his family. I would in Naruko's case, since she's my wife…but she'd have to ask for help. I don't go sticking my nose in things that are not my concern. If you want my help, just _say_ so."

"I don't need your help," Hanabi retorted. "I'm fine. Everything's peachy, and tonight I can't make it."

"We both know that's not true," Shinku remarked. "And you know better than me that you won't be able to say no to Naruko when she comes to collect you."

"I'll make sure to be on a mission," Hanabi said.

"That won't work. You work for Root now. You must always be available for missions of high sensitivity..."

Hanabi snapped her eyes shut. "Ask me what is wrong. Ask me, come on."

Shinku sighed. "What is wrong with you?"

"Nothing, it's none of your business," she replied venomously. "Ask my sister."

"Hanabi," Shinku said once more, his tone tired. "We can keep talking to each other in circles, or you can go and speak with your new team."

"I'll go and speak with the 'team'," she said.

"And?" Shinku continued.

"And then I'll go home, make myself a cup of tea, and go to bed."

"Hanabi…"

"Fine! I'll drink a keg of alcohol and weep myself to sleep," she said, sarcasm coloring her voice. "I'm an adult. You can't force me to come to a dinner."

"You know I'm doing this because I'd rather you not have to talk with Naruko —or rather, suffer her."

"Is that the way you should talk of your wife?" Hanabi replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Truth never hurt anyone," Shinku chuckled. "And she wouldn't take offense of that. She is going to take offense if you don't show up."

"I'll break a leg."

"She'll carry you."

"I'll snap both of my arms."

"She'll force feed you...that would be embarrassing."

"I'm not going to sit next to my sister," Hanabi said. "And I'm not going to come if my sister does."

"You won't be alone," Shinku said. "You can bring someone, and…"

Hanabi's bark of laughter was mirthless and devoid of fun. "As if!" She made a dismissive gesture with her hand. "If I'm dismissed, sir, I'd like to go and talk with my team."

"Fine," Shinku hung his head between his shoulders as Hanabi walked out, letting it rest against the desk's surface.

Hanabi walked outside, stepping past another pair of patrolling guards and making her way towards the training grounds. The sounds of 'Bitch!' 'Whore!' 'Bitch Whore!' and so forth aided her in reaching her destination. She blinked at the sight of Jugo sitting on a bench, talking softly to a small bat perched on his finger, while Sai painted the scene in front of him.

The one hitting a sandbag out of frustration was Karin, who howled obscenities one after the other.

"Ahem," Hanabi coughed.

"Fuck you," Karin replied.

Hanabi raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't hear you," Hanabi said. "Care to repeat it?"

"I said 'Fuck you, flat-chested Chibi'."

"Ah, I thought I had heard that."

Hanabi inclined her head to the side, before flickering out of sight. A chakra-enhanced slice cut through the sandbag, exploding outwardly and covering Karin with the sand within, making her splutter and jump backwards. Hanabi walked on the sand, her eyes giving off a murderous glare.

"My name is Hanabi, and to you it's Captain Hanabi," she hissed out. "Am I clear?"

"Oh, the cute little puppy has a bark," Karin smirked, a hand on her hip. "It's a pity she doesn't have fangs."

Hanabi clenched her fists. "I think presentations are in order," she said. "State your likes, your dislikes, your dreams and so on."

Karin rolled her eyes. "My name is Karin Uzumaki. I like okonomiyaki, I dislike Gyoza and white-eyed little children who replace hot-studs captains. My dream is to have my hot stud's captain's babies. No matter the cost," she grinned. "A woman's desire can pass even through the rock!" She clenched her right fist upwards.

"I am Sai," the pale-skinned boy said. "I like to eat tofu and to draw. I dislike loud noises. My dream is to be useful to Konoha."

Jugo scratched the side of his chin, his cheeks slightly red. "I am Jugo." He hesitated for a moment. "I like to walk in forests and play with birds," he said. "I dislike violence and don't wish to fight anyone…Shinku-san said I would be useful as a tracker."

"He said that?" Hanabi asked, "Why would you choose this?"

"Ah," he hesitated again, as if embarrassed. "Karin-san is the only person I can trust being near me. She knows about…my condition and we're treating it. I'd be more scared staying in Konoha without her."

"That's right," Karin barked, both hands on her hips. "Jugo's my subordinate and my patient."

Hanabi brought a hand to her face. "So…he's sick?"

"He just has some rampaging homicidal tendencies, but they're mostly treated and he can stay in control most of the time," Karin smiled. "He aided in curing the cursed seal on the Uchiha heir, you know? I was part of the research team too."

She puffed her chest out. "That's who I am, the wonderful Uzumaki Karin!"

"I'm Hanabi," she said in the end. "I'm your captain, and my dream is to be left alone. I dislike you lot, but let's work together properly."

"Tsk," Karin clicked her tongue in distaste.

"I would like that," Jugo said, his voice soft.

"Of course, flappy chest," Sai said, smiling.

Hanabi's eyebrows rose. "Excuse me?"

"No? What about Sulky?"

"Sulky?" Hanabi's body twitched as her eyes narrowed in anger. "You and I are going to be sparring pretty soon, you bastard."

Sai just smiled.

**Author's notes**

**And we're here. The sequel to The Boy in the Team. 'The Girl in the Squad', Hanabi-centric sequel that will span a few years, because I can. **

**Any amount of pain, suffering and death is courtesy brought forth to you because BriEva gave me the inspiration input to start this. Please, direct your inquiries on 'Why, hell, why?' on her.**


	2. The Night Before Departure

The Girl in the Squad

Chapter Two

Hanabi didn't like the taste of alcohol. Frankly, she despised it. She preferred banana-flavored milkshake, but that was a childish thing to like and she wasn't a child, not any longer.

Her eyes trailed over the small compact glass in her left hand, her back against one of the walls of her apartment. She clenched the bottle with her right hand.

"_You did as I expected."_

Five words. It had taken five words to make her understand her father's opinion of her would never change. Would it take her slaughtering an entire village and surviving impossible odds to get his approval? Would it take something more?

She bitterly laughed a dry barking sound that made her shoulders tremble.

"_You should give it a try."_

Six words. It had taken six words to understand her sister was gone. It didn't matter in the end; she was happy, but it didn't mean the same thing would have gone well with her. She was too young, for one thing…and she didn't want that.

"_As long as you'll live in my house…"_

She had left.

"_As long as you're a Hyuga…"_

She had threatened to gouge her own eyes out.

That had worked well.

Even if her body or emotions held no value to her father, her eyes were important. They were the pride of the clan. She had left with 'his permission', but she knew the truth. Her father had been scared; of what, she didn't even want to know.

She was free. She had money. She could live the life.

That was when she realized the sorry state of her life.

Whom did she have? What did she have? Without the clan, without the Hyuga, without a team to do missions with —one busy with the hospital, the other two probably getting it on in bed _**and why was she imagining that**_.

She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. The bottle, at least, was her friend. The taste was horrible, but the more she drank the more loose she felt, and she could smile. People enjoyed drinking themselves into oblivion, didn't they? She enjoyed it too.

The times where she was truly drunk everything around her ceased to matter, as if it never existed in the first place. It made her feel light as a feather, it made her forget everything…and then it crashed back down on her head the next morning.

She felt sick.

Her eyes white and without irises looked back at her with pure hatred.

She hated herself; the mirror said so.

Hanabi hated the mirror too.

She threw it across the room, letting it land with a dull thud against the opposite wall. It didn't break. It was made of stern stuff.

"Just like my liver," she grinned, taking another swig.

Her head began to feel woozy, and as she reclined it to look upwards at her ceiling —the ceiling of her room, within her apartment, that she had bought with her money…she felt at peace.

This was her life. Everything, in the room, was hers.

It didn't belong to the Hyuga clan, or to the daughter of Hiashi Hyuga, or to an Anbu operative. She had bought everything with her money. She had walked right inside a furniture shop and emerged with her stuff in a scroll.

The plain bed with beige and yellow sheets, the wallpapers with flower motifs, the old wood furniture with secret weapon compartments and the iron lamps were a reminder to her; they reminded her that it was her life now. She had bought those things because they were hers.

They didn't belong to the clan any longer. Nothing belonged to them around her.

She was her own person.

"That's…deep," she mumbled to herself. "Really…deep."

She didn't get how talking to oneself worked. Bird-san always used to say that it relaxed him, to talk and listen to his own voice. She couldn't stand it.

She didn't want someone to talk to her —everyone had something to say to her, it was _annoying_. She wanted someone to give her praise.

She wanted praises.

"I should go to sleep," she mumbled, giving a look at her bed and slowly beginning her crawl towards it. A moment later, she collapsed on top of it.

In her dreamless sleep, at least, she was happy.

Karin Uzumaki rolled her eyes and, for the hundredth time, looked at her sink with distaste.

The water dribbled down again. She had a plumber repair it just the week before and yet it broke again. If she didn't know better, she'd think a shinobi took his time to come by every day to break her pipes. She nursed a cup of tea in her hands, breathing in the vapors and sighing in relief.

A book on human anatomy was in front of her, a mortar and a pestle stood at the corner of the table, a mash-up of herbs within already ground to paste.

She was making pills. It was a good paying side-job. "It's peaceful," she grumbled, slamming her head with a thick 'thud' down against the table. Life was boring. She was used to nervousness, to the stress of having to follow the sheer impossible orders of a mad S-rank shinobi. She usually never slept more than four hours a day, and now she could sleep eight and nobody would bat an eye.

If it weren't for the shrill of the missions, she would have probably fallen asleep within the next month of being given the permission to live in Konoha —although having to suffer through constant visits by shinobi to check on whether she was a spy or not took away some of her boredom.

"It's too damn peaceful," she mumbled again. She blew a lock of red hair away from her face. The soft chirping sound from the window made her turn to look at the bird in question. It was a tiny swallow, flapping its wings and thrilling softly. "Tell Jugo to get some sleep," she grumbled to the bird. "I'm fine and tomorrow's the date of departure."

The bird chirped once more, as if understanding her words —how Jugo managed to speak to them was a mystery she wasn't too keen on discovering— and then flew away. Jugo's apartment was just next door to hers, and every now and then, he checked to see if she was fine.

The man really was a worrywart.

The clock ticked by, soon signaling ten o'clock. She yawned, and then propped herself back up, before flipping the pages of the book in front of her. She didn't dislike peace, but…she needed more spice in her life. Lusting after the 'Heroic Jinchuuriki's husband' was a way like any other to break the monotony. She snickered.

She was going to tease the captain starting the next day. Maybe she'd cop a feel during the first night and go from there.

Karin stretched, and then yawned again. "Boring," she said, gazing at the ceiling. "This place is so boring."

Jugo smiled softly as the bird chirped to him. "Thank you," he said, gently scratching the little animal on the chest. The bird thrilled happily, before flapping its wings and heading off to its nest, in a corner of the room.

His apartment was clean, if not for his sleeping room which anyone else but him would define as a veritable 'mess' to sleep in.

There were dry leaves and branches, and his bed was a simple mattress laid on the floor. He wouldn't have managed to sleep anywhere else, and even staying inside the village had taken time. He was glad they had assigned him an apartment near Miss Karin. He wouldn't have felt at ease anywhere else.

He enjoyed living in Konoha. He had a nice comfortable side-job within the Inuzuka's compound, where he took care of the puppies in the kennels, and when he wasn't working as a tracker in the missions, he was fine at home.

He had a home now, and he loved it.

He loved the peace of Konoha, the smiling people who walked the street, and the fact they had no reason to be scared of him. They treated him now; his sickness was no longer something he could not control. He had a safe room inside his house, where he could retreat and let the chakra wash out of his body to keep him weak.

He could live.

He finally could _live_.

Sai gazed at the white and black painting in front of him. He held up his brush and carefully began to dip it in the ink. He didn't draw with colors. If he could paint with black and white, why was there a need for orange, or blue, or red?

He drew shapes first, dry, geometrical, 'pure' in his opinion. Then he drew upon them, softer lines, circles, smooth movements on the parchment. He had to be careful not to let the ink sloppy the paper. He had to use the correct amount of water, to make the ink run and yet not be too runny.

His movements were precise, perfect, and flawless in his opinion.

Sai's room was bare of all but the essential. A mat in a corner, a gas-lamp, and his paintings hanging from the walls as well as a desk and an open window —the door was always close, _**always**_.

The breeze that came in from the window didn't faze him, nor did the masked Anbu who had entered the room a second after. Sai simply kept up painting.

"Operative," the masked Anbu said. "You are to proceed with the pre-assigned mission. Should any of your teammate show traitorous tendencies to Konoha, you are to remove them."

Sai inclined his head to the side, his face perfectly unfazed. "I understand."

The Anbu disappeared a moment later.

Sai returned to his drawing.

He didn't care about Menstruating Bitch or Bird Talker. He didn't know anything about Sulky.

He would do his job, as always, for that was his purpose in life.

He lived for Konoha, and for Konoha he would die.

That was who he was, that was what he was; he was a Root operative, and he obeyed orders.

Orders were everything.

Shinku Haruno sighed for the tenth time in a row as he bopped his head against that of his _wife_. He was still getting used to it. From girlfriend to wife there hadn't been that much discernible changes —if not for a ring around his and hers finger.

"Haruno-san," a voice called out.

They both turned at the same time.

Well, that too had been another change.

"Having a nice night out with your husband?" it was an old woman, probably having closed shop and eager for a few minutes of chatting. Naruko grinned, before giving back a firm nod of her head.

Her small chattering buzzed in and out of Shinku's ears as he gazed at the rooftops where the Anbu silently made their way. He could feel Naruko's arm grasp a bit tighter against his, and he smiled softly back.

"We'd better go or we'll be late," he said. Naruko pouted, but waved goodbye.

"What are you thinking about, mister?" she asked him, her head reclined against his shoulder.

"Nothing much," he replied. "I'm just worried for tomorrow."

"Come on," she rolled her eyes. "You're a worrywart. I told you; you won't let our son go anywhere if I let you decide this sort of things."

"We don't have a son yet, Naruko," Shinku sighed. "And can't I be worried? That team is a gamble as it is."

Naruko hummed. "Is the Chibi coming tonight?"

"She was busy getting to know her teammates," he replied.

Naruko looked at him with her eyes narrowed, before she pinched the side of his arm, making him hiss out in pain.

"You're lying, Mister."

He looked sideways for a moment, but winced as Naruko twisted the pinching once more.

"I give, I give!" Shinku retorted. "She's got a mission tomorrow, so she can't come. She's probably sleeping already."

Naruko pouted and sighed, shaking her head. "I should be jealous, you know? Seeing you worry like this for another girl."

"You know it's not like that," Shinku pointed out.

"I know, that's why I'm not angry," she replied. "I could check on her if you want."

It was Shinku's turn to shake his head. "She's old enough to make her choices."

"You sound like a father, mister," she grinned and began to purr. "We could cut the night short and—"

Shinku flicked his index finger against Naruko's forehead, making her wince. "Ouch!"

"I love you," he added a moment later, with a soft smile as he leaned down for a kiss.

"I love you too, unfair man." Naruko mumbled back with her usual cheesy grin as she kissed him back.

Hinata sighed and for the twentieth time looked at the sky. Sasuke stood by her side, dressed primly and trying his best to act innocent enough.

"There was a last minute emergency," he said. "But it's solved now, and we're on time, and I guarantee you I won't be accepting any cases that aren't life-threatening…"

"I understand, Sasuke-san," Hinata replied.

Her arms crossed over her chest, wearing a form-fitting purple kimono for the night. There was a visible 'inflation' near the stomach, a clear sign of her pregnancy.

"It's going to be a night out with friends and nothing more," he added still. "No stress, no…"

"I understand, Sasuke-san," Hinata stressed out once more. "Is something the problem?"

"You're using the 'san'. You always use the 'san' when you're angry."

"Do I?" Hinata raised an eyebrow. "It must be a coincidence, Sasuke-san."

"Yes, you do and I don't think it's a coincidence. Are you still angry about last night?"

"Why would I be angry about last night? You just said you would be home for dinner and came back three hours later."

"There was an emergency —an accident on the training grounds. There was a twelve years old with half his intestines lying around on the ground. I had to sew them back together."

"Yes, of course," Hinata said. "That was an operation that barely would take ten minutes to the successor of Tsunade. You still have two hours and fifty minutes to account for."

"There were other cases…"

"That less skilled doctors could have done in your stead," Hinata continued. "You simply did not wish to return home. I understand that."

"That's not true." Sasuke replied hotly. "I lost track of time."

"Funny, I thought there were clocks in the hospital."

Sasuke exhaled. "No matter what I say I'm still guilty, right?"

"Yes," Hinata nodded. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to use the bathroom. Your daughter is enjoying herself with my stomach too much."

"It's your daughter too."

"I was a very quiet baby; my mother used to tell me that. You on the other hand…"

Sasuke frowned. "Did my mother say that?"

"She did."

Sasuke groaned out in frustration.

It was going to be a long night.

**Author's notes**

'**The Night Before Going on a Mission'. Each character gets a bit of light time, and then we can move on to Hanabi-Centrism from here on out.**

**Let's see if we have everything: Bored Uzumaki? Check. Nihilistic Hyuga? Check. Pacifist Juugo? Check. Backstabbing Murderous Sai? Check. **

**Yep, just another day for the Angst Muse.**


	3. The Team of Misfits

The Girl in the Squad

Chapter Three

Hanabi clasped the Anbu armor tightly, placing the mask over her face and checking the gas valve one last time before leaving her apartment. She would be back from her mission by the end of the month, and the last thing she needed was to return to the ruins of her home burned up in flames.

It was still night outside, and the dull throbbing headache in the back of her forehead made her hiss. Still, the pain kept her awake. She needed only a few flickers to reach the Root Headquarters, built underneath the police station of Konoha, and accessible through a sewer entry by its side.

"And here comes our loveable captain," Karin's voice made her headache increase as she opened the door to the briefing room. She winced from the nearly blinding white light of the place —normal neon for the others, but to her it made her eyes hurt. "Want to sober up fast?"

Hanabi grunted non-committedly. Karin had a mask on —porcelain white— but the red locks of hair showed through a bit by the sides of it. She sat on the desk, where Shinku had talked to them the day before and that now was empty. He had still to arrive, probably.

The Uzumaki grinned, moving her hands close to the sides of Hanabi's head. "It might sting a bit," she said in a soft voice.

The headache slowly dispersed as a flow of warm chakra poured through her brain, making Hanabi actually moan from pleasure.

"Are we filming a porn movie here?" Sai quipped in dryly from the corner of the room. Hanabi's eyes opened up sharply, giving a glare to where the man was. His mask was porcelain white, just like all the others.

"Shut up," Hanabi grumbled as Karin's hands left the sides of her head.

"Well," Karin said, "I thought we started off with the wrong foot yesterday," she brought her right hand forward. "How about we go at it again, Captain?"

Hanabi raised an eyebrow —not visible from behind her mask— and then clasped the hand. There were callouses near the tip of the fingers, which she felt as she returned the handshake.

"Sure. I am going to entrust my back to you after all."

"You like taking it from behind?" Sai asked his voice completely neutral.

"Ignore Sai," Karin said with a dismissive —and quite rude— hand gesture towards him. "He doesn't have an ounce of common sense."

"I realized that," Hanabi sighed. "Any other quirks I should expect?"

"Jugo has…a delicate condition," Karin said. The man in question stiffened for a second, before giving an awkward nod and stepping forward. He scratched the back of his head.

"I absorb Senjutsu —nature chakra— as a natural trait. The way my body naturally releases it is, according to Tsunade-sama, through using it during blood-lust rages. Something about enzymes appearing when I'm angry and being the trigger to the release of the nature chakra…"

"If he turns a different color and starts to transform random limbs," Karin added, patting softly Jugo's shoulder, "Stay clear and give him a wide berth until he calms down. It won't happen unless he wants it though, because he's in control now," she turned to look at the man, "aren't you?"

Jugo nodded, slightly embarrassed.

"If he's been cleared for duty, then I hope he is capable of pulling his weight," Hanabi said neutrally. "Anything else?"

"My blood has healing properties," Karin said. "Take a bite, suck some of it and you're back in top shape in a few seconds."

Hanabi nodded. "That is an interesting bloodline."

"It's because of the special chakra of the Uzumaki," Karin replied. "Just like these," she grinned as she displayed a small golden chain emerging from her palm. "I'm not very good at using them though. I think they're just a wasteful technique"

"Really?"

"What need do I have for a chain made of chakra when a needle coated with a powerful neurotoxin does the same job?" Karin shrugged.

"You do have a point," Hanabi replied.

A few minutes later, the door opened and in walked Shinku. He had bite signs all over his neck, although they were already fading away.

"This is your patrol schedule," he said as he moved behind his desk. "You are a scout team on paper, but you'll be given a roll of possible targets of opportunity that might appear in the area as well," Shinku grabbed a small scroll. "Sai knows the cyphers," he remarked, handing it over to the pale-skinned boy. "I expect a report each week to hit my desk. If anything strange happens, I expect a report."

He took a deep breath. "You do not have identification masks for this mission. You are _**Root**_. You answer to colors," he opened another drawer, removing a set of inkpots. "These will change between missions, to ensure none is easily traceable or recognizable. Karin? You'll be Red," a red slash on the white porcelain mask appeared on the forehead area.

"Jugo, you'll go with Orange," a small slash, over the right cheek of the mask.

"Sai, you'll be Black," a black slash, on the left cheek.

"Hanabi, for the duration of this mission, you'll be White."

The white slash was barely visible on the edge of her mask's chin area.

"White is in command henceforth," Shinku added. "As of this moment, you no longer have names. You are neither alive nor dead. _**You are nothing**_."

He took a deep breath, and looked down at his desk, his hands clasped together firmly. "You may leave."

When he next lifted his face, the Root team was no longer in the room.

He closed his eyes and swallowed thickly, before gripping the edge of the table and pulling himself up. While yawning, he massaged the bridge of his nose with his left hand.

Shinku hissed, gripping onto his right shoulder for just a moment as pain burst its way through his limb, before quieting down the next.

"Naruko must be training," he muttered looking at his artificial arm. "How sensible are you getting anyway?" he shook his head.

There wasn't time to waste in asking pointless questions. He'd ask Naruko later to increase the seals on his right limb.

Meanwhile, Hanabi —no, _**White**_— rushed through the treetops of Konoha with all the agility she could muster. She was a bit rusty, but it all came back to her as she moved, jumped, stuck to the trees' bark or branches. Behind her, the rest of the team —her team— followed. She was the youngest, and yet they followed her.

She didn't know what to make of her team's problems or quirks, and especially, she didn't want to invade their privacy by reading their biographies. She _could_, but just because she could, didn't mean she _had_ to.

The same reason why being a Hyuga didn't mean having to marry whoever father wished her to; she refused becoming a mere token of good will and be 'sold' to whoever benefitted the clan the most. She would not become her sister.

They travelled towards the Amegakure's old border —now that the land of Rain was no more, it actually was the Land of Fire's new strips of land— at a steady pace, taking care to rest during the day, hidden by the trees or the land's natural formations.

As they neared the unspoken border, after two days of rush, White signaled the halt. They were behind a mud hill, dried up and easy to dig through to form a small cave to hide inside. The moment Amegakure's 'God' had gone, so had the rain. Now, the Land of Rain was turning slowly into fields.

A rabbit hopped its way out of its hiding spot, and began to move towards Orange with its ears trembling a bit. The man gently clicked his tongue, to call the animal closer. Soon, the Root member was nursing the scared creature as two birds ended up landing on his shoulders.

The birds were ravens.

Their beaks were red.

"They've been eating corpses," Orange said softly, rubbing with the tip of his finger the chest of one of the ravens. "Not too far from here, to the East…"

"How many?" White replied.

"Three."

White nodded, before turning to Black. "Send a report to home-base about it. We'll investigate."

"How long are we going to be patrolling, boss?" Red asked her voice chipper. "Did the mission say it?"

"Two months," White replied, "Or less, if we finish our opportunity targets."

Red pouted; the mask didn't show it, and then she stretched for a bit. "It sucks that you're the only one with the knowledge of the mission."

"It's protocol," White said.

"I dislike protocol," Red remarked. "Our other captain was funnier, he didn't stick to protocol."

"I doubt he would not," White stressed out suddenly tense. "Bird-san is a highly respected member of Konoha's Anbu division."

"Bird-san? Ah…wait, you're the little chick!" Red clapped her hands together. "Now that explains it."

"Little…chick?"

"The old captain said he always had this little chick following him around like a lost duckling. So that was you? Who would have thought…"

Hanabi felt heat rise to her cheeks. "I did not follow him around like a lost duckling."

"You didn't? He said something else."

"He was mistaken," stressed out Hanabi. She clenched her fists. The woman was doing this just to rile her up; Bird-san would never say something like that.

"I doubt that, chick," Red grinned. "Chick-Taichou sounds good, doesn't it?"

"She's Sulky-Taichou," Black pointed out, speaking for the first time in a long while.

"Sulky doesn't give it enough impact, Black," Red replied.

"Should we move?" Orange asked, "To where the corpses are?"

Hanabi's eyes narrowed for a moment on Red and Black, before she turned her head sharply and nodded towards Orange.

They stepped outside under the blazing sun, rushing across the landscape silently. Hanabi's mind drifted, thinking of Bird and Red's words. Was there truth in there or not? She didn't know.

The corpses were precisely where Orange had said —or his crows had told him. They looked charred and battered, belonging to Konoha Anbu. Large sizzling wounds emerged from their backs and slashes of burnt flesh were visible where the armor had melted off their skin.

"Raiton users," Red said, kneeling next to a corpse. "They've been dead for a day, two at most. By the slashes I'd say they used chakra conductive metal and quite a lot of electricity."

"Did Ame have any particular users of lightning-Affinity?" Hanabi asked, carefully prying away the masks from the Anbu faces just to get their identities out of the Bingo Book. Afterwards, she repositioned the masks on them and unclasped a storage scroll.

"Not that the Bingo Book says…then again, the Bingo book said Hanzo of the Salamanders was still alive."

"There's a traitor of Konoha with lightning techniques who escaped in Ame," Black said, his voice monotone. "Aoi Rokusho, he is a target of opportunity."

A few flips of the pages of the Bingo Book later, and Hanabi emitted a weary sigh. "He was a Jounin of Konoha," she turned to look at her ragtag band of misfits. "And while I cannot confirm nor deny him as our group's target of opportunity, I would rather not start outright with hunting Jounin…one who seems to have escaped the village with the sword of the thunder god."

"Scared?" Karin said with a teasing voice. "Is Chibi-Chick-Taichou a scared chicken?"

"I am not scared, Red," Hanabi hissed. "I think we can start patrolling and doing our main job rather than hunt down someone who might have already hidden his tracks."

Karin grinned behind her mask. "But we're a tracking team in all but name; it will be a cinch to find him with Orange and I…and you have got to see Black's giant bird."

"What?" Hanabi choked out.

"His giant bird," Karin continued, "It's majestic _and_ massive. It can easily lift us all."

"She is not referring to my dick," Sai said calmly, "But to my technique."

Hanabi sighed, feeling an incoming headache already pounding at the back of her head. "Let's just pursue for now," she decided in the end. "If he's out of our patrolling area we'll leave him be; if he isn't, then we'll strike if we have the opportunity. That's what targets of opportunity are."

Karin pouted. "Meanie."

Sai unclasped a giant scroll, before starting to draw down on it with quick and practiced strokes. A few minutes later, and a giant bird made of ink screeched and flapped its powerful wings out of the paper, allowing all four of them to comfortably sit on its back.

Hanabi didn't say a word.

She had never seen a technique like that before, but as her hands gripped onto the ink —solid, and nearly with the same consistence of a real bird's skin— she had to rethink her team's strengths. She was in an Anbu team after all; there was no reason to believe that just because they had 'different' ways of expressing themselves they were not qualified for their job. If anything, she was the one underqualified.

Hanabi shook her head as she activated her Byakugan, taking in their surroundings.

The tracks on the ground stuck out like sore thumbs for her eyes, making it extremely easy to give orders to Sai on the direction to take. The ink bird flapped its powerful wings in the sky, passing through clouds or simply sailing in the infinite blue.

Her eyes took in the tracks in the dry ground, removed and hidden to the perfection only a Jounin could achieve. Yet hers were not the 'famed' bloodline eyes for nothing. She looked for the depressions in the ground, the nigh invisible cracks that the naked human eye could not see, and she found her target.

She found him and concentrated, her breathing evening out.

"He's three kilometers to the north-east, headed straight for the coast."

Her voice was now dry and clipped, straight to the point. She was the leader of the team, the one in charge. It was high time she showed it; especially now that they were nearing a target. "Black, bring us ahead of him. We'll prepare an ambush and take him out before he has a chance to use a technique."

She frowned a moment later. "The Anbu team managed to wound him on the right side. He's losing blood through a badly stitched wound."

"You know, I have to ask," Red said. "Do you ever use the Byakugan to…"

"Yes," Hanabi said firmly. "It's the first thing I do every day when I wake up, because of course all Hyuga are perverts."

Red chuckled. "See? I knew it."

"If it makes you feel any better in your childishness," Hanabi replied, "You're not the first who asks me this, and you probably won't be the last."

Red pouted loudly.

The bird increased in speed yet again. Holding on tightly, Hanabi kept her gaze trained on the target.

She was flying in the sky on the back of a bird, but her eyes remained firm on the ground. Somewhere, in all of it, there was a metaphor she was not catching at all…but it didn't matter.

She was a free adult now, and anything she did, she did out of her own free will.

Her fists clenched against the ink.

She was free.

Yet, freedom and happiness weren't the same thing, apparently.

**Author's notes**

…**Hanabi, Hanabi…tsk. Tsk.**

**Next chapter shall hopefully have more action.**


End file.
